M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

11 Rehoboam went back to Jerusalem and gathered together an army of 180,000 men from the families of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin. Rehoboam wanted to go fight against the Israelites and take back his kingdom. ² But the Lord spoke to a man of God named Shemaiah. He said, ³ “Talk to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to men of Judah and Benjamin. ⁴ Say to them, ‘The Lord says that you must not go to war against your brothers. Everyone, go home! I made all this happen.’” So all the men in Rehoboam’s army obeyed the Lord and went home. They did not attack Jeroboam.

Rehoboam Strengthens Judah

⁵ Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built strong cities in Judah to defend against attacks. ⁶ He repaired the cities of Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, ⁷ Beth Zur, Soco, Adullam, ⁸ Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, ⁹ Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, ¹⁰ Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron. These cities in Judah and Benjamin were made strong. ¹¹ When Rehoboam made these cities strong, he put commanders in them. He also put supplies of food, oil, and wine in them. ¹² Also, he put shields and spears in every city and made the cities very strong. He kept the peoples and cities of Judah and Benjamin under his control.

¹³ The priests and the Levites from all over Israel agreed with Rehoboam and joined him. ¹⁴ The Levites left their grasslands and their own fields and came to Judah and Jerusalem. The Levites did this because Jeroboam and his sons refused to let them serve as priests to the Lord.

¹⁵ Jeroboam chose his own priests to serve in the high places, where he set up the goat and calf idols he had made. ¹⁶ When the Levites left Israel, the people in all the tribes of Israel who were faithful to the Lord, the God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord, the God of their fathers. ¹⁷ These people made the kingdom of Judah strong, and they supported Solomon’s son Rehoboam for three years. They did this because during that time they lived the way David and Solomon had lived.

Rehoboam’s Family

¹⁸ Rehoboam married Mahalath. Her father was Jerimoth. Her mother was Abihail. Jerimoth was David’s son. Abihail was Eliab’s daughter, and Eliab was Jesse’s son. ¹⁹ Mahalath gave Rehoboam these sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. ²⁰ Then Rehoboam married Maacah. Maacah was Absalom’s granddaughter.^[a] And Maacah gave Rehoboam these children: Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. ²¹ Rehoboam loved Maacah more that he loved all his other wives and slave women. Rehoboam had 18 wives and 60 slave women. He was the father of 28 sons and 60 daughters.

²² Rehoboam chose Abijah to be the leader among his own brothers. He did this because he planned to make Abijah king. ²³ Rehoboam acted wisely and spread all his sons through all the areas of Judah and Benjamin to every strong city. And Rehoboam gave plenty of supplies to his sons. He also looked for wives for them.

Shishak King of Egypt Attacks Jerusalem

12 Rehoboam became a strong king and made his kingdom strong. Then Rehoboam and the whole tribe of Judah^[b] refused to obey the law of the Lord.

² During the fifth year that Rehoboam was king, Shishak king of Egypt came to attack Jerusalem. This happened because Rehoboam and the people of Judah rebelled against the Lord. ³ Shishak had 1200 chariots, 60,000 horse riders, and an army that no one could count. In Shishak’s large army there were Libyan soldiers, Sukkite soldiers, and Ethiopian soldiers. ⁴ Shishak defeated the strong cities of Judah. Then Shishak brought his army to Jerusalem.

⁵ Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah. The leaders of Judah had gathered together in Jerusalem because they all were afraid of Shishak. Shemaiah said to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Rehoboam, you and the people of Judah have left me and refused to obey my law. So now I will leave you to face Shishak without my help.’”

⁶ Then the leaders of Judah and King Rehoboam were sorry and humbled themselves. They said, “The Lord is right.”

⁷ The Lord saw that the king and the leaders of Judah had humbled themselves. Then the message from the Lord came to Shemaiah. The Lord said, “The king and the leaders humbled themselves. So I will not destroy them, but I will save them soon. I will not use Shishak to pour out my anger on Jerusalem. ⁸ But the people of Jerusalem will become Shishak’s servants. This will happen so that they may learn that serving me is different from serving the kings of other nations.”

⁹ Shishak took the treasures from the Lord’s Temple and from the king’s palace. He also took the gold shields that Solomon had made. ¹⁰ King Rehoboam made more shields to put in their places, but they were made from bronze. He gave them to the guards on duty at the palace gates. ¹¹ Every time the king went to the Lord’s Temple, the guards took out the shields and went with him. After they were finished, they put the shields back on the wall in the guardroom.

¹² Rehoboam humbled himself, and the Lord stopped being angry with him. So he did not completely destroy Rehoboam. There was some good in Judah.

¹³ King Rehoboam made himself a strong king in Jerusalem. He was 41 years old when he became king of Judah. Rehoboam ruled 17 years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord chose for his own. He chose this city from all the other cities of Israel. Rehoboam’s mother was Naamah. She was an Ammonite. ¹⁴ Rehoboam did evil because he didn’t decide in his heart to obey the Lord.

¹⁵ All the things Rehoboam did when he was king, from the beginning to the end of his rule, are written in the writings of Shemaiah the prophet and in the writings of Iddo the seer. Those men wrote family histories. And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the time both kings ruled. ¹⁶ Rehoboam rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. Then Rehoboam’s son Abijah became the next king after him.

Jesus’ Letter to the Church in Ephesus

2 “Write this to the angel of the church in Ephesus:

“Here is a message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.

² “I know what you do, how hard you work and never give up. I know that you don’t accept evil people. You have tested those who say they are apostles but are not. You found that they are liars. ³ You never stop trying. You have endured troubles for my name and have not given up.

⁴ “But I have this against you: You have left the love you had in the beginning. ⁵ So remember where you were before you fell. Change your hearts and do what you did at first. If you don’t change, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. ⁶ But there is something you do that is right—you hate the things that the Nicolaitans^[a] do. I also hate what they do.

⁷ “Everyone who hears this should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To those who win the victory I will give the right to eat the fruit from the tree of life, which is in God’s paradise.

Jesus’ Letter to the Church in Smyrna

⁸ “Write this to the angel of the church in Smyrna:

“Here is a message from the one who is the First and the Last, the one who died and came to life again.

⁹ “I know your troubles, and I know that you are poor, but really you are rich! I know the insults you have suffered from people who say they are Jews. But they are not true Jews. They are a group^[b] that belongs to Satan. ¹⁰ Don’t be afraid of what will happen to you. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison. He will do this to test you. You will suffer for ten days, but be faithful, even if you have to die. If you continue to be faithful, I will give you the reward^[c] of life.

¹¹ “Everyone who hears this should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. Those who win the victory will not be hurt by the second death.

Jesus’ Letter to the Church in Pergamum

¹² “Write this to the angel of the church in Pergamum:

“Here is a message from the one who has the sharp two-edged sword.

¹³ “I know where you live. You live where Satan has his throne, but you are true to me. You did not refuse to tell about your faith in me even during the time of Antipas. Antipas was my faithful witness^[d] who was killed in your city, the city where Satan lives.

¹⁴ “But I have a few things against you. You have people there who follow the teaching of Balaam. Balaam taught Balak how to make the people of Israel sin. They sinned by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sins. ¹⁵ It is the same in your group. You have people who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans. ¹⁶ So change your hearts! If you don’t change, I will come to you quickly and fight against these people with the sword that comes out of my mouth.

¹⁷ “Everyone who hears this should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches!

“I will give the hidden manna to everyone who wins the victory. I will also give each one a white stone that has a new name written on it. And no one will know this name except the one who gets the stone.

Jesus’ Letter to the Church in Thyatira

¹⁸ “Write this to the angel of the church in Thyatira:

“Here is a message from the Son of God, the one who has eyes that blaze like fire and feet like shining brass.

¹⁹ “I know what you do. I know about your love, your faith, your service, and your patience. I know that you are doing more now than you did at first. ²⁰ But I have this against you: You let that woman Jezebel do what she wants. She says that she is a prophet,^[e] but she is leading my people away with her teaching. Jezebel leads my people to commit sexual sins and to eat food that is offered to idols. ²¹ I have given her time to change her heart and turn away from her sin, but she does not want to change.

²² “So I will throw her on a bed of suffering. And all those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly. I will do this now if they don’t turn away from the things she does. ²³ I will also kill her followers. Then all the churches will see that I am the one who knows what people feel and think. And I will repay each of you for what you have done.

²⁴ “But others of you in Thyatira have not followed her teaching. You have not learned the things they call ‘Satan’s deep secrets.’ This is what I say to you: I will not put any other burden on you. ²⁵ Only hold on to the truth you have until I come.

²⁶ “I will give power over the nations to all those who win the victory and continue until the end to do what I want. ²⁷ They will rule the nations with an iron rod. They will break them to pieces like clay pots.^{[f] 28} They will have the same power I received from my Father, and I will give them the morning star. ²⁹ Everyone who hears this should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.

The Future of Jerusalem

3 Jerusalem, your people fought against God. They hurt other people, and you have been stained with sin. ² They didn’t listen to me or accept my teachings. Jerusalem didn’t trust the Lord. Jerusalem didn’t go to her God. ³ Jerusalem’s leaders are like roaring lions. Her judges are like hungry wolves that come in the evening to attack the sheep—and in the morning nothing is left. ⁴ Her prophets are always making secret plans to get more and more. Her priests have treated holy things as if they were not holy. They have done bad things to God’s teachings. ⁵ But the Lord is still in that city, and he continues to be good. He does not do anything wrong. He continues to help his people. Morning after morning he makes good decisions for them. Not a day passes without his justice. He never gives a decision that is crooked or is something to be ashamed of.

⁶ The Lord says, “I have destroyed whole nations and their defense towers. I destroyed their streets and now no one goes there anymore. Their cities are empty—no one lives there anymore. ⁷ I tell you this so that you will learn a lesson. I want you to fear and respect me. If you do this, your home will not be destroyed, and I will not have to punish you the way I planned.” But those evil people only wanted to do more of the same evil things they had already done!

⁸ The Lord said, “So just wait! Wait for me to stand and judge you. I have the right to bring people from many nations and use them to punish you. I will use them to show my anger against you. I will use them to show how upset I am—and the whole country will be destroyed. ⁹ Then I will change people from other nations so that they can speak the language clearly and call out the name of the Lord. They will all worship me together, shoulder to shoulder, as one people. ¹⁰ People will come all the way from the other side of the river in Ethiopia. My scattered people will come to me. My worshipers will come and bring their gifts to me.

¹¹ “Then, Jerusalem, you will no longer be ashamed of the wrong things your people do against me. That is because I will remove all the bad people from Jerusalem. I will take away all the proud people. There will not be any of them on my holy mountain.^{[a] 12} I will let only meek and humble people stay in my city, and they will trust the Lord’s name. ¹³ The survivors of Israel will not do bad things or tell lies. They will not try to trick people with lies. They will be like sheep that eat and lie down in peace—and no one will bother them.”

A Happy Song

Christ Comes to the World

1 Before the world began, the Word^[a] was there. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was there with God in the beginning. ³ Everything was made through him, and nothing was made without him. ⁴ In him there was life, and that life was a light for the people of the world. ⁵ The light^[b] shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not defeated^[c] it.

⁶ There was a man named John, who was sent by God. ⁷ He came to tell people about the light. Through him all people could hear about the light and believe. ⁸ John was not the light. But he came to tell people about the light. ⁹ The true light was coming into the world. This is the true light that gives light to all people.

¹⁰ The Word was already in the world. The world was made through him, but the world did not know him. ¹¹ He came to the world that was his own. And his own people did not accept him. ¹² But some people did accept him. They believed in him, and he gave them the right to become children of God. ¹³ They became God’s children, but not in the way babies are usually born. It was not because of any human desire or plan. They were born from God himself.

¹⁴ The Word became a man and lived among us. We saw his divine greatness—the greatness that belongs to the only Son of the Father. The Word was full of grace and truth. ¹⁵ John told people about him. He said loudly, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘The one who is coming after me is greater than I am, because he was living before I was even born.’”

¹⁶ Yes, the Word was full of grace and truth, and from him we all received one blessing after another.^{[d] 17} That is, the law was given to us through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God. The only Son is the one who has shown us what God is like. He is himself God and is very close to the Father.^[e]

John Tells About the Messiah^(A)

¹⁹ The Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent some priests and Levites to John to ask him, “Who are you?” He told them the truth. ²⁰ Without any hesitation he said openly and plainly, “I am not the Messiah.”

²¹ They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”

He answered, “No, I am not Elijah.”

They asked, “Are you the Prophet^[f]?”

He answered, “No, I am not the Prophet.”

²² Then they said, “Who are you? Tell us about yourself. Give us an answer to tell the people who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

²³ John told them the words of the prophet Isaiah:

²⁴ These Jews were sent from the Pharisees. ²⁵ They said to John, “You say you are not the Messiah. You say you are not Elijah or the Prophet. Then why do you baptize people?”

²⁶ John answered, “I baptize people with water. But there is someone here with you that you don’t know. ²⁷ He is the one who is coming later. I am not good enough to be the slave who unties the strings on his sandals.”

²⁸ These things all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan River. This is where John was baptizing people.

Jesus, the Lamb of God

²⁹ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God. He takes away the sins of the world! ³⁰ This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘There is a man coming after me who is greater than I am, because he was living even before I was born.’ ³¹ I did not know who he was. But I came baptizing people with water so that Israel could know that he is the Messiah.^[g]”

^32-34 Then John said this for everyone to hear: “I also did not know who the Messiah was. But the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘You will see the Spirit come down and rest on a man. He is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen this happen. I saw the Spirit come down from heaven like a dove and rest on this man. So this is what I tell people: ‘He is the Son of God.’^[h]”

The First Followers of Jesus

³⁵ The next day John was there again and had two of his followers with him. ³⁶ He saw Jesus walking by and said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”

³⁷ The two followers heard him say this, so they followed Jesus. ³⁸ Jesus turned and saw the two men following him. He asked, “What do you want?”

They said, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” (“Rabbi” means “Teacher.”)

³⁹ He answered, “Come with me and you will see.” So the two men went with him. They saw the place where he was staying, and they stayed there with him that day. It was about four o’clock.

⁴⁰ These men followed Jesus after they had heard about him from John. One of them was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. ⁴¹ The first thing Andrew did was to go and find his brother Simon. Andrew said to him, “We have found the Messiah.” (“Messiah” means “Christ.”)

⁴² Then Andrew brought Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, the son of John. You will be called Cephas.” (“Cephas” means “Peter.^[i]”)

⁴³ The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He met Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” ⁴⁴ Philip was from the town of Bethsaida, the same as Andrew and Peter. ⁴⁵ Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the man that Moses wrote about in the law. The prophets wrote about him too. He is Jesus, the son of Joseph. He is from Nazareth.”

⁴⁶ But Nathanael said to Philip, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

Philip answered, “Come and see.”

⁴⁷ Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said, “This man coming is a true Israelite, one you can trust.^[j]”

⁴⁸ Nathanael asked, “How do you know me?”

Jesus answered, “I saw you when you were under the fig tree, before Philip told you about me.”

⁴⁹ Then Nathanael said, “Teacher, you are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel.”

⁵⁰ Jesus said to him, “Do you believe this just because I said I saw you under the fig tree? You will see much greater things than that!” ⁵¹ Then he said, “Believe me when I say that you will all see heaven open. You will see ‘angels of God going up and coming down’^[k] on the Son of Man.”